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West on the legal and ethical propriety of Judge Jones
On the Discovery Instute's EvolutionNews blog site, West presents his 3rd part: Dover in Review, pt. 3: Did Judge Jones accurately describe the content and early versions of the ID textbook Of Pandas and People?
Timothy Sandefur has already shown in depth how West erred in his understanding of the legal rules guiding Intervention so I will focus on a comment made by West and show it to be without much legal merrit by looking at the Judge's ruling on FTE's (Foundation for Thought and Ethics) motion to intervene:
West wrote:
Before addressing the merits of Judge Jones' assertions regarding Pandas, something needs to be said about the legal and ethical propriety of Judge Jones placing so much weight on this early textbook in his judicial opinion. Frankly, it is astounding that Judge Jones treats Pandas as central to his decision given that he refused to grant the book's publisher, the Foundation for Thought and Ethics, permission to intervene in the case in order to defend itself.
First, for the sake of the reader and of West, let's first look at Judge Jones legal decision to deny the FTE to intervene. After all, understanding the legal rules is essential in understanding (the legal propriety of) Judge Jones' ruling.
First of all in his March 10, 2005 Order, the Judge outlined the requirements for intervention:
The Judge points out that there are two types of interventions under federal rules:
Judge Jones wrote:
As FTE submits, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provide for two types of intervention: intervention as of right and permissive intervention. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 24. We will discuss the two types of intervention in turn.
So let's first look at Intervention as of right
Intervention as of Right. Upon timely application anyone shall be permitted to intervene in an action: (2) when the applicant claims an interest relating to the property or transaction which is the subject of the action and the applicant is so situated that the disposition of the action may as a practicable matter impair or impede the applicant's ability to protect that interest, unless the applicant's interest is adequately represented by existing parties. Fed.R.Civ.P. 24(a)
The Judge points out that under the rules of the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, all of the following four tests need to be satisfied
the Third Circuit Court of Appeals has instructed that Fed.R.Civ.P. 24(a) entitles an applicant to intervene if the applicant establishes that all prongs of the following four-part test are satisfied: (1) the application for intervention is timely; (2) the applicant has a sufficient interest in the litigation; (3) the interest may be affected or impaired, as a practical matter by the disposition of the action; and (4) the interest is not adequately represented by an existing party in the litigation.
The Judge found that the FTE failed the timeliness requirement
We are in agreement with the parties that the advanced stage of this litigation renders FTE's application untimely as it will cause prejudice, delay, and added expense to the parties. In that regard, we conclude that application of the Mountain Top factors, which we previously delineated, to this case demonstrates that FTE's Motion is untimely.
However, the judge still applies the additional three tests
Although the Applicant carries the burden of proving all four parts of the test under Fed.R.Civ.P. 24(a) and has failed to do so with respect to the timeliness of intervention, in the exercise of completeness, we will analyze the remaining three prongs of the test in this narrative. See Alcan Aluminum, 25 F.3d at n.9; see
Again the Judge, in the exercise of completeness, considers all the relevant tests. Judge Jones' ruling to deny FTE's motion sets the standard for his thorough ruling in the Kitzmiller case.
The three other tests are
Interest in the litigation
We do not find that the scenario raised by FTE, specifically that if this Court should find IDT to be the equivalent of creation science, which will result in the loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars to FTE, constitutes a "legal interest as distinguished from interests of a general and indefinite character." Harris, 820 F.2d at 601; see also United States v. American Telephone and Telegraph Co., 642 F.2d 1285, 1292 (D.C. Cir. 1980).
In addition, we find that Applicant has not demonstrated a "tangible threat to a legally cognizable interest[.]" Harris, 820 F.2d at 601. Although FTE may be quite concerned with the outcome of the litigation in this case, the afore-mentioned concern does not rise to the level of a significantly protectable interest in the litigation warranting intervention as a party. Therefore, Applicant has not demonstrated an interest in the litigation to justify intervention as of right pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 24(a).
Potential Impairment of the Interest
Once an applicant for intervention has established that he or she has a sufficient legal interest in the underlying dispute, the applicant must also show that the interest is in jeopardy in the lawsuit. Alcan Aluminum, 25 F.3d at 1181, n.9; see also Harris, 820 F.2d at 596. In making such a determination, the court is obligated to assess the "practicable consequences of the litigation," and "may consider any significant legal effect on the applicants' interest." Id. at 601.
As we have previously determined that seeking to intervene, to prevent potentially significant economic loss from potential decline in books sales to public educational institutions, is not a cognizable interest in the litigation which warrants intervention as of right on the part of Applicant, it logically follows that we need not determine whether Applicant's alleged interest as so expressed is placed in jeopardy by the case sub judice. Accordingly, the Applicant has failed to prove this part of the intervention as of right test.
Moreover, to the extent that the stare decisis effect of an order declaring intelligent design instruction to be unconstitutional in a public school might require FTE to redirect its marketing efforts, that indirect, remote, and attenuated effect fails to "impair" FTE's interest.
Representation by Existing Party in Litigation
After careful consideration of the parties' submissions and the record, including but not limited to the three typical reasons constituting inadequate representation as specified by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, we do not find that any interest alleged by Applicant is not being adequately represented by Defendants in this action for the additional reasons that follow. See Hoots, 672 F.2d 1135.
Having rejected intervention as of right, the court continues to examine "Applicant's alternative argument that the Court grant their intervention application under Fed.R.Civ.P. 24(b), which provides for permissive intervention".
The Judge observes that:
Whether to grant permissive intervention is within the Court's discretion, but in making this determination, courts consider whether the proposed intervenors will add anything to the litigation.
Additionally, if the interests of the proposed intervenors are already represented in the litigation, courts deny such application to intervene. Hoots, 672 F.2d at 1136.
Both the Dover School Board and the Plaintiffs were objecting to FTE's intervention requests.
Both parties oppose permissive intervention. Plaintiffs submit that FTE's defense would present a question of fact in common with that already asserted in the lawsuit, namely, whether intelligent design is fundamentally a religious proposition rather than a scientific one. Plaintiffs maintain that FTE will not add any defense to the instant case that Defendants have not already demonstrated that they will present. (Pls.' Br. Opp. Mot. Intervene at 20). Likewise, Defendants oppose permissive intervention by FTE and argue that they adequately represent any generalized interest in IDT that is shared with FTE. (Defs.' Br. Opp. Mot. Intervene at 5).
West observed that "something needs to be said about the legal and ethical propriety of Judge Jones placing so much weight on this early textbook in his judicial opinion". Given the legal history, it should be clear that the Judge acted within legal guidelines and rules. Again, it seems to me that West could have saved himself much embarassment if he had familiarized himself with the legal history. West may disagree with the legal rulings, especially since the ruling disagree so much with the Discovery Institute's position, but to call into question the legal and ethical propriety of the Judge without showing any familiarity with the legal landscape seems rather peculiar to me.
Finally, West seems to make a big deal about the judge limiting the FTE's Amicus Brief submission to 5000 words. West seems to be unfamiliar with the Local Rules of the Court, especially rule LR 7.8 Contents and Length of Pretrial Briefs.
(1) Unless the requirements of Local Rule 7.8 (b)(2) and (3) are met, no brief shall exceed fifteen (15) pages in length. (2) A brief may exceed fifteen (15) pages so long as it does not exceed 5,000 words.(3) No brief exceeding the limits described in this rule may be filed without prior authorization. Any motion seeking such authorization shall specify the length of the brief requested and shall be filed at least two (2) working days before the brief is due.
Again, Judge Jones is following the local rules of the Court. This rule applies equally to all parties involved. Did the FTE even file a motion to exceed the length limits? I have found no record of this in the Amicus Filings.
In fact, in ruling on the filings of the DI Amicus brief, the Judge showed significant judicial restraint
Despite the fact that amici failed to formally request leave of Court before filing the submissions, we will review them absent the request of formal leave as we do not find it necessary to elevate form over substance.1
1 We do note however, that the better practice is that a motion seeking leave of Court to file an amicus brief should be filed concurrently with any future amici submissions.
Legal History The rich legal history of the FTE intervention shows that questioning the Judge's legal propriety in this case seems a hard one to actually support. I have yet to locate the Defendants' oppostion to FTE's motion to intervene. Any hints would be welcome.
- FTE Motions to intervene and responses
- 2005-05-23: FTE Application to Intervene
- 2005-05-23: Buell Affidavit
- 2005-05-25: Letter that FTE intends to ask for intervention
- 2005-06-14: Plaintiffs response to FTE motion
- 2005-06-06: FTE Memo requesting hearing on motion to intervene
- 2005-06-20: DI Lawyer Brown joins in motion to allow FTE intervention 2005-06-28: Meyer's Affidavit filed in support of FTE's motion to intervene
- 2005-06-28: FTE's reply to Defendant and Plaintiffs respone to FTE's Motion to Intervene
- 2005-07-14: Oral hearing on motion to intervene
- 2005-11-07: FTE Amicus Curiae brief
- 2005-11-07: Appendix to FTE Amicus Brief
- 2005-11-07: FTE motion to file Amicus Brief
- 2005-12-07: Plaintiffs' response to FTE/DI Amicus Brief
- 2005-12-12: DI/FTE response to plaintiffs response


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The WWF is run at a local level by the following offices...
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Around the world, billions of dollars are being spent to reduce poverty and promote sustainable economic development – often with inadequate attention to the link between sustainable development and a healthy environment.
In many parts of the world, the dynamics which threaten species are also those which contribute to poverty, such as loss of habitat and its riches, unsustainable depletion of the natural resource base, inequitable access to natural resources necessary for life, and a lack of appropriate governance and management mechanisms.
The challenge for governments, scientists, industry, non-governmental organizations and communities is to embrace both the challenges and the opportunities of species conservation and to deliver integrated conservation and development outcomes. The results will improve the status of species and the communities, which, ultimately, are the custodians of their habitats and populations.
A species conservation approach that is integrated with human needs is fundamental to the fulfillment of WWF's mission.
- Dr Susan Lieberman, Director, WWF Global Species Programme

subset: commoncrawl


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Children's Hospital is part of the UPMC family.
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To find a pediatrician or pediatric specialist, please call 412-692-7337 or search our directory.
A resource for our network of referring physicians.
For more information about research, please call our main office at 412-692-6438.
Ranked #8 Nationally by U.S. News & World Report.
As the fastest growing pediatric research program in the country, UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh offers vast opportunities for researchers. Our researchers have access to the most advanced cellular and molecular technologies, and all of our research programs are focused on important problems in pediatric medicine. Each program is involved in training of pre-doctoral and post-doctoral scholars as well as research technical staff.
Research opportunities at Children's are generally filled through the University of Pittsburgh's Office of Human Resources. To learn more about career opportunities in research, please visit PittSource.
Our Student Research Training Program provides research training for both undergraduate and graduate students in Health Sciences who desire to learn the rationale, design strategies, methods and other aspects of biomedical research.
Children's Hospital's main campus is located in the Lawrenceville neighborhood. Our main hospital address is:
UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh One Children's Hospital Way 4401 Penn Ave. Pittsburgh, PA 15224
In addition to the main hospital, Children's has many convenient locations in other neighborhoods throughout the greater Pittsburgh region.
With MyCHP, you can request appointments, review test results, and more.
For questions about a hospital bill call:
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Create a Website Account - Manage notification subscriptions, save form progress and more.
No. As a new owner, you must submit your own business license application. If you change the name of your existing business you will be required to submit a new application and pay the appropriate fees.
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Every person or business engaging in business within the city limits of Chowchilla is required to obtain the proper Business License Certificate for their business. The Chowchilla Municipal Code identifies a business as professions, trades, and occupations (including home occupations), both for profit and non-profit.
All businesses must obtain a business license prior to carrying out business transactions. Businesses that move from one location to another are required to submit a new business license application. It is unlawful to operate within the City of Chowchilla without a license.
Applications for a business license are available from the Finance Department in:
Chowchilla City Hall130 S Second StreetChowchilla, CA 93610
For information, call (559) 665-8615, ext. 783.
Once you have provided your completed application along with the appropriate payment, it can take up to ten (10) working days for departmental approval. If the business operates in a structure located within the Chowchilla city limits a fire inspection is required. That can take up to an additional ten (10) working days to process, complete and release the business license.
The following items may be required when applying:
In accordance with the City Municipal Code Chapter 5, most business license fees are based on your yearly gross sales. The business license fees are listed in the Master Fee Schedule that is available on the City website, on the Finance web page. A print version can be viewed at the Finance Department in City Hall. Business licenses are due and payable annually.
Yes. If you are operating the business from your home within the city limits of Chowchilla, you must first obtain a Home Occupation Permit.
Yes, you must display your annual business license permit for public view as per Chowchilla Municipal Code Title 5.


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Sonntag, 26. Februar 2012
In the course of time letters underwent many stages of progression towards the forms currently known. Why not suggest organic origin and, in this case, amphibious derivation?
For "Evolution of Type, Exhibit 17 and 19" I fell back on my earlier print "Evolution of Type, Fig. 1-6", where I charted up the idea of a "metamorphing" letter A. The goal now was to sculpture this evolutionary process in a way a museum would display it. I created several stages of letter evolution from wood, twigs, dry leaves, paper and polymer clay and cast them in clear resin blocks. The results are two "fontological" showpieces. See detailed images.
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Chris Stewart had plenty of jump on Tuesday after his St. Louis Blues returned home following a five-game tour through the Pacific Division.
The forward will try to lead his club to its second win over the Phoenix Coyotes in a week as the Blues host a rematch on Thursday night.
Stewart scored twice in a 4-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks as the Blues played at home for just the second time this month. It was St. Louis' third victory in four games, a span that began with a 6-3 win at Phoenix last Thursday.
Stewart had a big game in Arizona, logging a goal and three assists. He combined with linemates David Perron and Patrik Berglund to notch three goals and six assists as the Blues beat the Coyotes for the fourth time in the past five meetings.
Perron and Chris Porter had second-period goals for the Blues against the Sharks on Tuesday, while Berglund pushed his point streak to five straight games. He has four goals and six points in that span, while Stewart has four goals and nine points over his last five games.
"We played with a lot of heart tonight and it was nice to see," said St. Louis head coach Ken Hitchcock. "The first period was one of the best we played this season."
Jake Allen stopped 39 shots to help St. Louis record the win despite getting outshot 41-21.
The Blues did lose forward T.J. Oshie to an upper body injury in the second period and he is doubtful for this game. That will likely put him on the sidelines alongside Alex Steen (upper body), Andy McDonald (knee) and Vladimir Tarasenko (concussion).
Still, the Blues are second in the Central Division and tied for fourth in the Western Conference with 30 points. That is one more than Phoenix, which has won two straight since its loss to St. Louis.
The Coyotes, who will try to win three in a row for the first time this season, are coming off Tuesday's 5-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings and got a pair of goals from Mikkel Boedker.
The eighth overall pick of the 2008 draft, Boedker had gone six straight without a goal and now has six tallies on the season.
"When he has the puck he can be a very dangerous player," Coyotes head coach Dave Tippett said of Boedker.
Shane Doan scored in his third straight game and for the fifth time in his past seven contests, while Raffi Torres and Rob Klinkhammer also lit the lamp in Phoenix' fourth victory in six games.
Mike Smith, who gave up all six goals on 29 shots faced last week versus the Blues, stopped 31 shots versus the Kings in his 250th NHL game.
Zbynek Michalek (ankle) and Matthew Lombardi (lower body) both missed Tuesday's game and are day-to-day. That leaves their status in doubt for the start of Phoenix's four-game road trip.


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Andy Clarke
@Mathias Bynens,
"Obviously, you're talking about minor changes, not fundamental modifications to the original design — let alone, starting a new design from scratch."
— Of course, new creative concepts take more time, but even these never need me to change HTML. Changes to layout are simple and mean only working in CSS.
"I can see why the only changes clients request to your designs are tiny ones, but this doesn't mean this is the case for every designer and for every project."
— No, I often go back to the drawing board. I've been known to throw away designs even AFTER the client had signed them off, because I wasn't happy with the direction.
"This workflow might work for your projects, but this doesn't mean it'll work for any web design + development project. "
— Did I infer that it would?
"Again — I think the situation in which there's both a designer as well as a (front-end) developer is much more common than just one double- or triple-talented bastard doing all the work."
— I don't do all the work. I have enormously talented chaps to work with, including Owen Gregory (the best partner I have ever worked with) . Oh, and web designers should learn markup and CSS. Otherwise they aren't web designers.
"There's no way the front-end developer is gonna start working before the design is final (i.e. fully approved by the client). It's called "working for free"."
— Where I live, it's called "tripe" — and that argument is full of it and based on generations old preconceptions about what designing, prototyping and developing is.
"This article is, sadly, a fairy tale to most people."
— Damn. I knew I had forgotten to mention something. I should have said that Mike loved the web site only after drinking a special potion (I slipped it into his tea). I also turned Sam into a frog (or was it a stone) when she brought up IE6.


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Live in Obedience
My beloved brethren, I am humbled and honored to speak to the priesthood of the Lord's church. This priesthood now numbers more than two million throughout the world who have made a covenant with the Lord to be His servants here upon the earth. We do His work. Great is the charge He has given us to "warn, expound, exhort, and teach, and invite all to come unto Christ."1 Ours is a call to labor with all our "heart, might, mind and strength"2 "to bring forth and establish the cause of Zion."3 We are "called to serve"4 by the Father of us all.
Tonight I would like to address the Aaronic Priesthood. I pray fervently for the guidance of the Holy Spirit that the Lord's promise might be fulfilled that "he that preacheth and he that receiveth, understand one another, and both are edified and rejoice together."5
My message to you young men is this: by obedience to the laws of the gospel, you can lift yourselves above the quagmire of sin that surrounds us in this world. In addition to helping you to become better servants of the Lord, obedience to these laws will help you to be better in everything you undertake in life, whether it be your activity in the Church, your family, education, business, profession, science, athletics, or any other worthwhile endeavor. You will be a better son, a better brother, and a better friend. You will enjoy your life more; you will be happier and at peace with yourself because you will know that your life is acceptable to your Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ.
We who serve in this great body of the priesthood do so because each of us has been called and chosen.6 God wants us to serve willingly and obediently. We who have made baptismal covenants and have accepted the call to serve in the Lord's kingdom as bearers of the holy priesthood have agreed to conform our will to His. We "should be humble, … submissive and … diligent in keeping the commandments of God at all times."7 My young brethren, "learn wisdom in [your] youth; yea, learn in [your] youth to keep the commandments of God."8 Nothing is more important to you than obedience to God's commandments.
President Ezra Taft Benson has stated that "obedience is the first law of heaven."9 This principle applies to all of us.
I observed a marvelous display of obedience during a recent visit to a large cattle ranch in Argentina. Early one morning, the gauchos brought forty horses into a corral to select their mounts for the day. Gauchos are like cowboys in the United States. Each gaucho went into the corral and whistled softly like this [whistling]. This established their presence. When the horses heard the soft whistling, they lined up quickly near the fence, facing the gauchos. The horses held their heads high, kept their eyes constantly on their masters, and kept their ears forward in an alert, receptive stance. They gave complete attention and appeared to be anxious to serve. They quickly organized themselves into a line as if for a full military dress inspection or review. The gauchos stepped back out of the way and whistled again. The horses circled quickly to the other side of the corral and lined up facing the gauchos. They looked as if a drill sergeant had called them to attention. Each gaucho chose his mount for the day's work and walked up to the horse he had selected. The others stayed in line waiting for their assignments.
When I asked how the gauchos taught the horses to be so obedient, I was informed that their training started when the horses were colts. Each one learned from its caring mother and from other mature horses. The gauchos began training the colts when they were young, with kindness, never using force of a lasso or a whip.
Watching this display of obedience, I thought of you Aaronic Priesthood brethren and how you are taught by your mothers, like the two thousand stripling sons of Helaman,10 and by caring fathers and priesthood leaders. I thought of you following their good example, disciplining yourselves, and keeping yourselves alert—willing to serve your Lord and Master as He chooses and calls you.
As you grow and mature, you will want and will earn more freedom to live your lives your way and to make your own choices. This you should do. Our hope and prayer is that you will grow up strong and obedient in the faith and that, like the young Jesus, you will increase "in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man."11
We urge you to be obedient and faithful to your priesthood duties. God has given you the authority to act in His name during this youthful season of your lives. The Aaronic Priesthood will prepare you for the time when you will be ready to receive the greater authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood. Prepare well for that great blessing by being faithful now in magnifying your Aaronic Priesthood.
Serve valiantly in any position to which you may be called. Prepare, bless, and pass the emblems of the holy sacrament worthily. Diligently gather fast offerings to assist your bishop in his duty to care for those in need. Tend to your home teaching duties consistently. Home teaching is an excellent preparation for missionary service. Attend all of your meetings regularly. Study your scriptures and pray daily and pay your tithing.
If you will be obedient bearers of the Aaronic Priesthood, I can promise you that by the time you are an ordained elder in the Melchizedek Priesthood, you will be ready to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ as a missionary boldly and persuasively. You will be better prepared for the later privileges and challenges of marriage and fatherhood.
To help missionaries remain faithful and obedient, we give them a little handbook. We ask them to carry it with them and read from it often. We have also provided a handbook for our young men and young women. Its title is For the Strength of Youth. We ask you to carry it with you, refer to it frequently, and live according to the counsel it contains. That counsel can protect you from evil and help you to obey even when obedience is difficult.
As you build your lives in obedience to the gospel and strive to achieve your goals, do not become discouraged by temporary setbacks and disappointments. Remember that "it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things."12 You will grow and learn by overcoming obstacles. The Lord has admonished all of us to "keep [His] commandments and endure to the end."13
No doubt, you young men have learned that obedience is not always easy. In fact, it can sometimes seem stifling, uncomfortable, or even impossible. "But with God all things are possible."14 You can be obedient. You can defeat Satan and overcome temptation. God "will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."15 The Lord does not expect anything of you that you cannot do. Remember Nephi's faith when he testified that "the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them."16
We live in a world filled with evil. Swirling all around us are the whirlwinds of strife and contention, temptation and sin. "The priesthood is a shield against temptation; it motivates and inspires young men to the highest and noblest of deeds; every young man, whether he holds the office of deacon, teacher, or priest, is a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ."17
How could we serve Him unless we were free from the evils of mortal life? Some mistakenly think it is impossible to avoid the sins of the world. To escape evil, a few even attempt to isolate themselves from society. The Savior prayed "not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil."18 That, too, is our prayer for you young men.
Willing obedience provides lasting protection against Satan's alluring and tantalizing temptations. Jesus is our perfect example of obedience. Learn to do as He did when Satan tempted Him in the wilderness. Even though He was weakened by fasting, His answer was quick and firm: "Get thee behind me, Satan."19 Elder Neal A. Maxwell said this of the Savior's example in resisting temptation: "Jesus noticed the tremendous temptations that came to Him, but He did not process and reprocess them. Instead, He rejected them promptly. If we entertain temptations, soon they begin entertaining us!"20 When Satan comes calling, cast him out as quickly as possible. Do not let temptation even begin to entertain you.
I plead with you young brethren of the priesthood to live above the curse of immorality that is plaguing the earth. Rise above the squalor of pornography, obscenity, and filth. Be virtuous and chaste. Uphold your young sisters in the gospel by respecting their budding womanhood and protecting their virtue. Always conduct yourselves according to the commandments of God when you are with them. You want your girlfriends to remain clean and pure. Just as you surely would protect the chastity of your own sister in your family, likewise protect the virtue of your sisters in God's family.
If you make a mistake, obtain forgiveness through sincere, humble repentance. God does forgive; it is a miracle made possible by the atoning sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ. But mistakes that seem to be small to you, if uncorrected, can have enormous consequences.
The First Presidency has stated very clearly that serious sins, especially immorality, could disqualify a young man from serving a mission. Yes, repentance is possible, but the privilege and blessing of serving a full-time mission for the Lord could be lost through transgression. Momentary lapses in an otherwise outstanding life could jeopardize this significant privilege and blessing. Brethren, never let your guard down!
Even though a loving God has provided a pathway to repentance, you simply do not have the time to waste in transgression. Sin wounds the soul; healing slows progress and takes time that could have been used in productive service and progress. The Lord needs you faithful and worthy young men, now and in the future, to combat the forces of Satan that are ravaging the earth.
Let me share an experience from my own youth, an experience that taught me the importance of obedience in doing even small things well. I loved to play football in high school and at the university. I wanted to be a good athlete. I especially remember one game. Our university team faced the University of Colorado in a contest for the conference championship. We were well coached and really well prepared.
The star of the Colorado team was Byron "Whizzer" White, an all-American who was a tremendous athlete. He was a fast, versatile, and powerful quarterback. His athletic prowess was legendary. His scholastic abilities were equally impressive. He later became a Rhodes scholar and retired recently as an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court.
Our wise coach was Ike Armstrong. His warnings before the game included two simple instructions: one, do not kick off or punt the ball to Whizzer White, and two, never let him get past the line of scrimmage.
We followed his instructions and held Colorado scoreless throughout the first half. Early in the second half, however, Whizzer White kicked a field goal. We answered with a touchdown and kicked the extra point. We were ahead seven to three at the end of the third quarter.
On the second play of the fourth quarter, we punted. The ball sailed deep into the corner of the field, near their end zone. Whizzer White plucked the tumbling ball out of the air at his fifteen-yard line and dropped back to his five-yard line to evade the first of our tacklers. Then with the speed, strength, and agility that had built his reputation, he started upfield and sidestepped every player of our team. I managed only to touch him with my little finger. He ran the entire length of the field for a touchdown—thrilling for Colorado, but disappointing for us.
Later in the fourth quarter, Whizzer dashed around his own right end and beyond the line of scrimmage and ran fifty-seven yards for another touchdown. The game ended with a score seventeen to seven. Colorado won the game and the conference championship.
Though we lost, I learned the importance of constant obedience to detailed instructions of our leader. Failure to obey our coach's two pregame warnings for just two plays—two brief lapses in an otherwise outstanding effort—cost us the game and the conference championship. That is all it took for us to lose something we had worked so hard to achieve.
I testify to you, my brethren, that your Heavenly Father loves you and wants you to receive and enjoy every blessing He has for His children, including the blessings of happiness and peace. We, the leaders of the Lord's church, love you. We pray for you earnestly and constantly. Your leaders in your wards and branches and in your stakes and districts likewise love you and pray for you. Your parents' prayers and love for you are beyond measure. We all want you to succeed in this life and to qualify for the greatest of God's gifts—eternal life in the celestial kingdom. To achieve your goals in this mortal life and prove yourselves worthy of eternal blessings, learn to obey. There is no other way. Obedience brings great strength and power into your lives.
The commandments of the gospel come from a tender, loving Father whose laws are given to make us happy, to protect us, and to help us avoid the inescapable pain and misery that always result when we yield to Satan and give in to temptation. "Wickedness never was happiness."21 God is, indeed, our loving Father. Everything He does is for our good. He knows all things. He knows us much better than we know ourselves, and He knows what is best for us.
May the Lord bless each of you special young men with strength and courage to obey His will and to prepare diligently for the work and joy that lie ahead, I pray humbly in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.


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Editor:I am writing in reference to an April 12 column written by Alan Guebert, "Deja vu all over again with the FCS."
Contrary to the column's description of the Farm Credit Administration's proposal to lift territorial restrictions on Farm Credit System lending, the proposal is not designed to allow system lenders to expand out of agriculture, abandon lending to small and beginning farmers and target "huge hog confinement operations who have multi-state investments." In fact, those large operations have numerous lending sources today, including national and international banks.
Rather, the proposal will give small and traditional farmers and other agricultural producers a choice of Farm Credit lenders. The current geographic limitation on Farm Credit lenders means that, in most cases, producers have one Farm Credit option for financing. This proposal gives farmers more financial choices thus increasing competition among all farm lenders (including those in the Farm Credit System) and ultimately helping keep agriculture's interest rates at competitive levels.
The Farm Credit System is, and will continue to be, a system of cooperative lending institutions owned and controlled by American agricultural producers. The idea behind the proposal is to ensure that all farmers benefit from competition for their loans and financial services, regardless of size or location.
Donnie W. Winters
Louisville, Ky.
(Mr. Winters is president and chief executive officer for Farm Credit Services of Mid-America.)
Up-to-date agriculture news in your inbox!


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UPDATE: YouTube removed the original video with the subtitles. You can still find the video on a Dutch video site. I'm sure they won't remove the video: click here
The Dutch interview of Sven Kramer where the reporter discusses an NBC reporter asking some stupid questions to the just crowned Olympic champion, is stirring up quite a storm on the Internet. On Reddit there is quite some discussion on who is the Douche bag here, and on other blogs there are people cheering for Sven, and others disagree with his response. One more time, here is the actual Youtube movie:
The Dutch reporter and Sven Kramer are discussing the awkward situation after the reporter asked the question and Sven called the NBC reporter stupid. The reporter is pointing out that US media work this way and expect athletes to work with them. Ultimately, Sven does not want to work the way the NBC reporter asked him to, and thinks the media should do their job, where he should concentrate on his sports. He is still in the race for two additional gold medals!
Although I agree totally with Sven Kramer calling the NBC reporter stupid, this might well be one defining moment in reputation management. How it will play out is not sure yet, but it could turn ugly if people would become more aggressive in their comments. I just wait for the clip to turn up on the Colbert Report tonight!
Some comments from across the web:
The guy JUST won the gold medal race at which you are in attendance for the sole purpose to report on and you have to ask his name? Is this reporter really someone in General Electric's accounting dept. who won a contest to go to Vancouver? Kramer is sure to point out in the above interview on Dutch TV that it was an American reporter, not Canadian. Hey, we might not pay much attention to this sport between Olympics, but at least we can pay attention when the race is happening right in front of our face.
So then why didn't she just say his name and where he was from herself into the mic before she started the interview? Do you think a reporter would do the same for Brad Pitt?? This isn't some guy she's chatting with on the street, asking him for an opinion on some random subject.
And from people who work in the TV media world comes the following:
Anyone who has worked in television news will tell you it's standard practice to get any interview to state their name and for very good reason. The person doing the interview is often not the one who pulls the "clip".
A producer in a dark room shuffling through hours of video of guys in orange suits would have no way of knowing this is the guy that just won a gold medal.
The other reason is to provide a pronunciation guide. Even a seemingly simple name like Smythe can have at least three different variations.
I work as a field crew for a television station, so let me put this in perspective here. In most situations the crew does know you biography, it our job to know who we are interviewing. The people who haven't read your entire life's history is everyone else watching the tape. I don't know if that was aired live, but in the course of a day, or a major event like the Olympics, or super bowl, or Daytona 500, we interview dozens and dozens of people. Sometimes when in a hurry its easier just to shuttle to the beginning of the interview and refresh our memory with the persons name and where they are from. Its standard practice to ask from name, spelling, pronunciation, and title at the beginning of every interview because at the end of the day you may not be the person writing the story or editing it. You may be "kinda a big deal" where you come from, but we have 20 other interviews to get today and I probably won't remember your name in 3 hours when I'm editing my tape asshole.
So, I'm interested in what you think. Was the reporter asking a stupid question to somebody who just won an Olympic gold medal, and can we expect more from today's media crews, or has Sven Kramer hurt his own reputation after making this remark.
PS> One thing I would like to put into the equation, as English is not the first language of Sven Kramer, it might be a slip of the tongue as his first reaction. If the NBS reporter really feels offended, I would suggest to do the interview next time in Dutch!


text: Comparative Economic Systems INTRODUCTION What would life be like in the North Korean economy? How would things be different in the economy of Chad? In this lesson, you will have the opportunity to compare these two economies to the U.S. economy, and you'll practice using some tools that can help you to study any economy in the world. TASK In this lesson you will define market economies, command economies, and developing economies. You will also compare one country with another by reference to factors associated with economic performance. PROCESS First we need to take a moment to look at how economists categorize economies. A market economy is characterized by private ownership of the means of production (for example, farms and factories), and supply and demand are responsible for the price and allocation decisions. The United States, Hong Kong, and Germany are considered market economies. A command economy is characterized by government (or central) control ownership of the means of production, and with a central authority setting prices of goods and services and for most allocation decisions. North Korea and Cuba are command, or more specifically communist, economies. A developing economy is one which is not yet industrialized, but is developing. Chad, Ecuador, and Bangladesh are considered developing nations. In this lesson, you will compare several aspects of the economies of the United States (representing a market economy), North Korea (representing a command economy), and Chad (representing a developing economy). Print the Comparative Systems Worksheet. Go to the CIA World Factbook website to find the information needed to complete the chart. Use the information from the worksheet to answer the following seven questions. 1. How can the presence or absence of natural resources and arable land affect a nation's economy, regardless of the type of economic system? 2. How can life expectancy and literacy rates affect the quality of labor in the economy? 3. How can fertility rates affect the use of scarce resources? 4. How can GDP per capita and poverty rates indicate standards of living in each system? 5. How can the size of the industrial/service sector and the agriculture employment rate indicate the level of industrialization? 6. How can electricity, communication, and transportation facilities indicate the potential for industrial growth? 7. Considering the lack of natural resources, the labor problems, and the lack of capital and little industrialization of developing countries, how can developing countries develop? (Hint: Look at Economy - Overview for Chad). CONCLUSION Market and command nations tend to place different priorities on the role of government in the economy, with the government sector generally playing a larger role in command nations. Given their resources, market and command nations can choose to focus on increased industrialization and expansion into new markets. Developing nations, however, often lack resources necessary for industrialization and must seek aid or investment from industrialized economies in order to grow. With increased globalization, we are becoming more acutely aware of the interdependence of all nations in our world economy.


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WEEHAWKEN — At the behest of Mayor Richard Turner, contractors, Department of Public Works employees, citizen-volunteers and others are working overtime to clean up The Shades, the small, tight-knit Weehawken neighborhood nestled in the shadows of the Palisade hills, near the Hoboken border and the Lincoln Tunnel.
The neighborhood was devastated by Hurricane Sandy last week. The neighborhood, which has an elevation level equal to Hoboken, was inundated with about 7 feet of water during the storm, as evident by the high water mark left on the walls of St. Lawrence's Church, the town's primary Catholic parish.
Most of the basements, garages and ground floor apartments in the area incurred severe damage, wrecking everything from hot water heaters to washers, dryers and even cars. Mayor Turner and other city employees advocated, then insisted, that residents evacuate last Sunday and Monday, and most returned days later to a cruel reality.
Since the storm, the city has established a shelter in the St. Lawrence community room, where hot meals are being served three times a day, and residents are provided with warmth, wi-fi, and whatever else they might need.
For more on this community and its history, see the upcoming weekend's print edition.


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What Happens When Jewish Law Hampers the Disabled?
About 10 years ago, Jason Lieberman stopped wearing tefillin. This was not an act of rebellion — Lieberman's cerebral palsy simply made it too difficult for him to put them on.
Seven years later, Lieberman, 34, who serves as treasurer of Matan, which provides Jewish education programs to special needs children, sought help from his extensive network in the Jewish community: Where could he find an occupational therapist who had experience in training disabled Jews to put on their own tefillin?
The answers disappointed him. Two rabbis offered to give him a heter — a dispensation — so that he wouldn't have to wear tefillin at all. Another suggested that he get someone else to put them on for him.
That was exactly what he was trying to avoid. "I know I have the skills to do it," Lieberman told a rapt audience of rabbinical students January 22 at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, in New York. "I just need someone who understands how my body works, to teach me how to do it."
Now, imagine that you, dear reader, are a rabbi, and a deaf congregant of yours dies. During a shiva visit you attend, several of the deceased's friends and family members who are also deaf take part in the mourning minyan; so do two Hasidic-looking men from the neighborhood, who are kind enough to come at the last minute to ensure the 10-man quorum a minyan requires.
Suddenly, the alarmed Hasids notice that two of the other men are signing to each other. According to their strict interpretation of traditional Jewish law, or Halacha, this service is not kosher: Deaf men cannot be counted. They remain silent when the other worshippers respond to the dead man's sons during their recitation of the Mourner's Kaddish, preparing to leave instead. But that would bring the number of worshippers down to eight, meaning the mourners could not recite the required prayers comunally, something that can only be done with a minyan.
You are this family's rabbi. What do you do?
Click here to read "You're the Rabbi; What Would You Do?
Those two types of presentations — the voices of disabled individuals themselves, and hypotheticals on the disability-related dilemmas that Orthodox rabbis must be ready to face — highlighted a recent four-day training program for rabbinic students, sponsored by YCT and its sister school for female scholars, Yeshivat Maharat.
From January 22 through January 25, the students grappled with these issues, including the thorny hypotheticals, which they discussed in small study groups during the course of the week. But even after hearing from disabled Jews themselves, some students, when required to present their conclusions on the hypotheticals to a panel of experts on the last day, focused solely on the halachic implications of their assigned question.
"I'm a little blown away by this," said Shelley Cohen, one of the panelists, to a group of such students. Cohen and her husband, Ruvan Cohen, funded the initiative, which takes place every two years, in memory of their son Nathaniel, who was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy at the age of 6 and died five and a half years ago, at age 21. Speaking to one group bogged down in the minutiae of Jewish law, she exclaimed, "This is a Jew who wants to be a part of a community!"
That is the core idea that YCT's dean, Rabbi Dov Linzer, and his colleagues want their students to have absorbed by the time they enter rabbinic life. These are not just abstract concepts; they affect real people who are often in pain, and embarrassed.
The students confronted concrete and practical questions, some of which explored the tensions between halachic strictures and contemporary ethics from a pastoral perspective:
Can a non-Jew be hired to caption a Sabbath service that is to be projected on a screen for hearing-impaired worshippers? What about a system that would do this automatically for words spoken into the system's microphone?
What do you tell a disabled Jew who is concerned that the cane she needs in order to walk to synagogue during the Sabbath violates the prohibition on carrying items? What about a wheelchair? And can her husband push it without violating the proscription against work? If that's a problem, what if the wheelchair is motorized with a pre-charged battery? Will she be violating the Sabbath ban on electricity?
What do you tell a yeshiva graduate who served in Afghanistan and lost his left arm to a landmine when he asks you: "Rabbi, I want to put tefillin on again. What do I do?" As a right-handed person, he is ordinarily obliged to wrap the tefillin straps on his left arm and hand. But even more fundamentally, as a one-armed man, how does he put them on at all?
Haggai Resnikoff, a student grappling with one of the hypotheticals — a blind woman who brings her seeing-eye dog to the sanctuary on the Sabbath, upsetting some of the other congregants — said succinctly, "You need to be considerate of her needs before even considering the halachic issues."
One way of doing this is to get the community involved, said Esther Altmann, a Manhattan psychologist who sat on the panel of experts that heard the students' presentations. "Anything that's different will make people retreat into, 'This isn't how it's supposed to be done,'" Altmann said. The important thing, she stressed, is to press on. "The conversation has to shift to, 'Of course there's a way we can figure this out.'"
Halachic legal issues aside, there are daunting physical obstacles, too. Including the disabled in synagogues, schools and camps involves issues that those who are not disabled often fail even to see.
"The problem is barriers," said Rabbi Michael Levy, a founding member of Yad HaChazakah, the Jewish Disability Empowerment Center, who is blind. "Architectural, transportational, communicational and attitudinal."
Levy was one of three speakers with disabilities who sought to convey to the students their experiences in the Orthodox community. Rachelle Landau, who is deaf, spoke of the dearth of interpreters of American Sign Language in synagogues. "I have been told that there is no money for an interpreter," said Landau, who works for Our Way for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, a program of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America.
Landau, who signed her own talk and used an interpreter to translate it to the audience, told the students that this was just the beginning of the problem. Even when there are interpreters available, "what do you do for separate seating?" she asked. Often, said Landau, she does not attend Orthodox synagogues because she cannot see the interpreter from the women's balcony. "Would you allow men and women to sit together if there's no other way?" she asked.
Linzer said the problem is frequently one of awareness. "We don't realize how many things we're not doing," he said.
Lieberman, the man with cerebral palsy who wanted to put on his own tefillin, related a meeting he had with a rabbi who told him he was willing to accommodate disabled people, but said he didn't have any in his community. Lieberman suggested that this might have something to do with the number of steps leading up to the synagogue door. The rabbi was aghast. "I didn't even realize there were 25 steps," he said.
This was an eye-opening experience for Lieberman, who told the audience: "I see one step, and it feels like six steps. It was the first time I realized that people who do steps well don't realize they're going up steps."
Shelley Cohen hopes to bring similar programs to other rabbinical schools through the Jewish Inclusion Project, of which she is the founder and director. "We really need rabbinical leadership," she explained.
Until now, most of the initiatives for change have come from disabled people themselves, or from their families, said Cohen, who described herself as the "mother of a Jewish person who just happened to be in a wheelchair." Cohen said she knows firsthand the struggles that people with disabilities and their families face to feel like they are a part of the Jewish community.
YCT, which stands on the left wing of Orthodoxy, has been unusually open to engaging the issue of inclusion, including its halachic challenges.
Agudath Israel of America, on the right wing of the Orthodox spectrum, favors a strict, sometimes less flexible adherence to Halacha. Sometimes, there is no leniency to be had. "There are in fact halachic 'brick walls' where what a person might deeply desire simply can't be obtained," said Rabbi Avi Shafran, the Aguda's director of public affairs.
Shafran did say that if a rabbi knows of opinions within Halacha that differ from his own, that rabbi is obliged to inform the person consulting him and allow that person his own choices.
Rabbi Mordechai Shuchatowitz, rabbi of the Agudath Israel congregation in Greenspring Md., and father of four children who are hearing-impaired, agreed. "Halacha gives us direction to deal with whatever situation we're in," he said. "[It] doesn't always have to be restrictive."
But in those cases where a request simply isn't possible, it is up to the rabbi to say no, he said. "We are observant on a consistent basis," Suchatowitz said. "We are compassionate but we're not going to change the Halacha for them."
According to Cohen, one thing these different schools of thought do share is blame for the current situation. "All the denominations share this problem of not doing inclusion properly," she said. "If we don't include everyone, we include no one. It says in the Torah, 'Teach your children.' There's no fine print in there that says only the perfect ones."
Contact Anne Cohen at [email protected]


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"Ben 10: Omniverse" Premieres Saturday, September 22 on Cartoon Network
via Cartoon Network press release:
It's Hero Time with the Global Launch of "Ben 10 Omniverse"
Based on the Highly Successful Franchise Cartoon Network Will Premiere the New Series with a Worldwide Roll-Out Beginning in the U.S. September, 22 at 9 a.m. (ET/PT)
One kid. All kinds of hero. That's our Ben Tennyson, and he's coming to Cartoon Network in an all-new series, Ben 10 Omniverse, with a global launch like no other. For the first time in its history, Cartoon Network territories covering over 178 countries and 27 languages will premiere a series closely together with a coordinated global campaign that begins in the United States on Saturday, September 22 at 9 a.m. (ET/PT).
In Ben 10 Omniverse, beating the bad guys is just part of the superhero gig. With a little help from his new, by-the-book partner, Rook, Ben explores the quirkier side of things in the alien underground and discovers enemies from his past looking for a rematch, all while a mysterious hunter is hot on his trail. With new aliens at his disposal and a brand new lease on life, Ben 10 is back and more fun than ever. Ben 10 Omniverse is the latest original series from Cartoon Network Studios. Matt Youngberg (Transformers: Animated) is supervising producer.
Ben is traveling the globe and crossing platforms to give kids a full digital experience. With more than 1.4 billion games played and 7.2 million games created, Ben 10 Game Creator has been one of CartoonNetwork.com's top ten games since launching in 2008. Now it's getting a refresh to match the unique character design of Ben 10 Omniverse, with new versions of favorite aliens and brand-new Omniverse aliens to play with. CartoonNetwork.com will also host a Ben 10 blog, keeping kids up-to-date with the latest Ben 10 news. These digital elements and more can be found on CartoonNetwork.com's new Ben 10 Hub, a destination for all things Ben 10 from the original series to Ben 10 Omniverse. Additionally, fans are invited to download the first episode for free on iTunes, Amazon, Playstation, Xbox and iNdemand through Sept. 28th.
Coinciding with the global premiere of this new-look series will be brand-new, must-have items from the top-selling Ben 10 consumer products franchise. Making a worldwide debut this fall will be new Ben 10 Omniverse toys from master toy partner Bandai, an interactive game from D3Publisher and apparel from Freeze. Additional licensing partners for the brand will follow with new products in 2013, all adding to the more than $3 billion generated at retail worldwide to date since its launch in 2006.
About Ben 10:
Ben 10 is Cartoon Network's most successful original global franchise that has transcended geographical borders and has reached beyond television to become one of kids' most celebrated brands.
Since the premiere of the original Ben 10 series, created by Man of Action Studios, in 2006, the franchise has spawned four animated series, one animated movie, two live-action movies, a CG movie, a feature film currently in development, a widely-popular consumer products line and has captured the imaginations of viewers on a worldwide scale.
About Cartoon Network:
Cartoon Network (CartoonNetwork.com) is the #1 U.S. television network among boys 6-11. Currently seen in 99 million U.S. homes and 178 countries around the world, Cartoon Network is Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.'s ad-supported cable service now available in HD offering the best in original, acquired and classic entertainment for kids and families. In addition to Emmy-winning original programming and industry-leading digital apps and online games, Cartoon Network embraces key social issues affecting families with solution-oriented initiatives such as Stop Bullying: Speak Up and the Move It Movement.
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news, entertainment, animation and young adult media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.


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Physicality is a big part of Major League Soccer. Saturdays in MLS have a significant amount of skill, but the fast, tough play stands out across the league. Looking for a home as a trialist with one of MLS's toughest outfits, the Houston Dynamo, Jose "Sito" Seoane is looking to show he can fit the bill.
Seoane, a 26-year-old who was born in Miami but grew up in Spain, is currently working to earn a spot in a very crowded Dynamo midfield. While numbers may be tight, he believes he has what it takes to stand up to the league's toughest challenges.
"I like to be intense in the game. Here you've got to be intense, otherwise it's going to be bad," Seoane said about transitioning to MLS play. "I've been working the last month to get conditioned. To me that's the most important thing."
Showing toughness in MLS will get you noticed. Showing he can stand up to the fight is something he has worked on as he moves up the levels of soccer, including last season with 2013 PDL champions Austin Aztex.
"It was a good experience and I learned how to compete with physical guys," Seoane said. "That's the thing I got from Austin."
Being physical in PDL play is one thing; Seoane still has to show it against a step up in competition.
"I think he's adjusted pretty well and has a good touch on the ball," Kinnear said before leaving for a week in Tucson, Ariz., where the club played games versus the San Jose Earthquakes, Portland Timbers and FC Tucson. "The game's probably a lot faster than he's probably used too. That's why we want to see more of him and see how it goes from there."
Seoane, who performed well against the Colorado Rapids before the trip, held his own and scored his second goal of the preseason against the Earthquakes (right). Along the way he has shown a willingness to track back, get stuck in and do the dirty work while on the pitch.
Showing that guile will win over teammates and coaches, but in the end soccer is still about technique. While Seoane is looking to show he has the physical fitness, he has shown the ability to create the same type of production as he did in Austin and in college by scoring goals and finding the right pass.
The midfielder was named MVP of the 2013 PDL Playoffs; Seoane led the Aztex to the league crown while tying for the club lead in both goals (9) and assists (5). At the same time he led NJCAA in goals scored (30) while at San Jacinto College, just 12 miles from where the Dynamo train. He also added 14 assists to his impressive goal haul.
It is all part of a versatile package that the Miami-born, Spain-bred midfielder is hoping to use to land a contract with the Dynamo—a contract that is not assured.
"So far it's been a good experience. Here there are players that make you feel better playing," Seoane said. "I think it's going well."
As for what Seoane thinks will keep him progressing towards a chance to stay in Houston, his answer was simple: "Just work hard."
Darrell Lovell covers the Houston Dynamo for MLSsoccer.com.


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Hillsong CDs for Winning Wednesday
February 18th, 2014
No comments
Tune in to WJTL all day long on Winning Wednesday, February 19th, for your chance to win new worship music from Hillsong. We have a bunch of Hillsong United's "Zion" CD–and also the new Hillsong Young & Free self-titled project. So, keep us on speed dial: 717-392-3690 (392-FM90) and listen for the DJs' cues to call in and win!


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Artwork • April 18th, 2007 • ssc2007-08c
"The further on the edge, the hotter the intensity," sings Kenny Loggins in "Danger Zone," a song made famous by the movie "Top Gun." The same words ring true for young, cooler stars like our sun that live in the danger zones around scorching hot stars, called O-stars. The closer a young, maverick star happens to be to a super hot O-star, the more likely its burgeoning planets will be blasted into space.
This artist's concept illustrates the process in action. An O-star can be seen near the top right, just behind a young, cooler star and its swirling disk of planet-forming material. Disks like this one, called protoplanetary disks, are where planets are born. Gas and dust in a disk clumps together into tiny balls that sweep through the material, growing in size to eventually become full-grown planets.
The young star happens to lie within the "danger zone" around the O-star, which means that it is too close to the hot star to keep its disk. Radiation and winds from the O-star are boiling and blowing away the material, respectively. This process, called photoevaporation, takes anywhere from one hundred thousand to about one million years. Without a disk, the young star will not be able to produce planets.
Our own Sun and its suite of planets might have grown up on the edge of an O-star's danger zone before migrating to its current, spacious home. However, we know that our young sun didn't linger for too long in any hazardous territory, or our planets, and life, wouldn't be here today.
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope surveyed the danger zones around five O-stars in the Rosette nebula. It was able to determine that the zones are spheres with a radius of approximately 1.6 light-years, or 10 trillion miles.
About the Object


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Digital Humanities: Using tools from the 1990s to answer questions from the 1960s about 19th century America.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Genres in Motion
There's quite a bit of data built in here, and just what it means is up for grabs. But it shows some interesting possibilities. As a reminder: at the end of my first post on categorizing genres, I arranged all the genres in the Library of Congress Classification in two dimensional space using the first two principal components. PCA basically find the combinations of variables that most define the differences within a group. (Read more by me here or generally here.). The first dimension roughly corresponded to science vs. non-science: the second separated social science from the humanities. It did, I think, a pretty good job at showing which fields were close to each other. But since I do history, I wanted to know: do those relations change? Here's that same data, but arranged to show how those positions shift over time. I made this along the same lines as the great Rosling/Gapminder bubble charts, created with this via this. To get it started, I'm highlighting psychology.
[If this doesn't load, you can click through to the file here]. What in the world does this mean?
That's partly up to you to decide, but here's a rough guide to reading it. [Note: this doesn't seem to work in Google Reader, you may need to head to the web site to see the graphics.] The chart begins in 1863 for psychology. (That's the year at the bottom: it goes back to 1861 for some fields). At that point, psychology is closest to the general philosophy/psychology LC classification "B"; its word-use patterns also align it with education, social pathology, and American history. You can look at the general space to get a sense of what PCA regards as the basic characteristics to separate on. The first principal component, for example, runs from south to north. All of the high scorers are science and technology disciplines; chemistry is the most distinctive from other subclasses, and biology the least. In the south are the social sciences and humanities; three religion classes are the least "scientific" works in the sample. (Scare quotes necessary because PCA word-choice differs from semantics in important ways). The second component runs from right to left, and separates out the humanities (literature above all) from the law and the emerging social sciences at the bottom; it also finds a set of words that create a similar split in the north from medicine to manufacturing. I like to think of that axis as being from personal to social in some way, but that's probably an exaggeration. (Although there are nice touches to support it: for example, "Public aspects of Medicine" is the most 'social' of the medical fields, and engineering the most social of the sciences).
So that's the landscape. Press play to see how it shifts over the period 1861-1922, if you haven't yet. You'll see psychology track steadily [*See important disclaimer about smoothing at the bottom] towards medicine in the upper left until about 1879. (Which is the date of Wundt's lab, traditionally the origin of scientific psychology—spooky!). The dots are quite small--hover over, and you'll see it only has a few hundred thousand words a year. That means only a couple books annually at first (rule of thumb: 100,000 words = one or two books), and none in a few. Once the field actually gets established, it settles into a relatively constrained area that it occupies until 1922. The size of the dots grows, indicating that more books are published in psychology.
What other fields might be interesting? I like LB, theory and practice of education, which makes a late dash towards the social sciences after crossing paths with psychology. Rather than go through them all myself, I'm just throwing it out there. Google did a great job making the charts fully interactive; you can change any aspect of them—turn on and off trails, highlight other groups, change the color classification scheme to work by LC class instead of my made-up higher classes, etc. Click away, something's bound to happen. I've included a few additional principal components to substitute out for the axes, though I don't pretend to know just what they mean. Click on the axis name, for example, to switch out the second principal component separating years for the fourth in the psychology graph, for instance, to see a metric that finds a logic in the B classification I'm somewhat blind to.
One thing that I find particularly interesting is the possibility of using a completely different set of criteria besides the PCA weights to chart on. I described earlier a separate PCA analysis that found axes of change over time: I've put that chart in here, too. You can change the options on the above chart to generate it in the window above, but let me give you another example.
[Original version hosted here.]
The essential point to this chart is that all the classes drift to right over time. That's because the left is finding language typical of the 1850s, and the right language typical of the 1910s. But within that overall drift, there is variation. Some genres are "ahead of the times," and some behind; some travel against the current. I highlighted three interesting ones here: Chemistry, US Law, and US History. They show different possible paths. Chemistry begins ahead of the pack in 1861--it is an advanced science, it doesn't republish old books much, etc. [See the caveat at the bottom about re-publication.] But as time goes on, its lead erodes. After about 1908, the language of chemistry is as modern as it will be before 1920. Engineering fields are using more modern language, physics catches up from well behind, and so forth. A lot of this probably represents percentage of reprinted books, but some of it as well is about what vocabularies have currency.
The law/history example shows something similar. Law moves back and forth, well behind the times in its vocabulary: while American history moves more steadily forward, with a number of notable pauses--particularly in the 60s/70s it moves backwards, and in the 90s it stays still long enough for law to catch up for a moment. Again, I'm not sure what's driving it—I'd need to build in a bit more processing to see what sort of vocabulary is causing it to take the course it does—but it's suggestive.
If you want to play around more, here is a wider version of the charts for free clicking that I'll keep up for a little while. These charts are really great for exploration--they let you change the axes, the arbitrary categories I use for colors, they let you look at moving bar graphs of the shifting distributions over time, etc. They really give a nice way to allow a lot more exploration of somewhat complex data sets than flat files allow, in addition to the cool animations.
I said this is "suggestive." That's a classic weasel word and raises the question: What's the point here? I admit I mostly just wanted to see what this would look like, and I'm going to stop with all the PCA for a bit. This is about as far as I can get on my own in a week while teaching. Still, let me think about what it's good for for a minute.
The point I want to make is not necessarily that this particular PCA weighting gives us vast new insights, although there might be some that are good for spurring critical thinking. (The lack of any separation at all between social sciences/humanities along the axis that parcels off science is quite interesting, for example). Certainly it's not that these particular weightings on a relatively small fraction of books are an end in themselves.
Rather, it's another demonstration of the sort of objects and movements we can study now that weren't possible even five years ago. Historians often want to write about Big Topics, but feel that they can't do so responsibly. Instead, we hunker down in to particular archives, study small movements, etc. We often want to write about concepts, discourses, genres as subjects, but finding ourselves forced to write about individuals instead because of the constraints of what we can read.
There's a route in to the big questions by aggregation: we can really make genres and other big groups our subjects. (That the dots breath in and out certainly helps further the illusion). We get to talk about structures, relations between genres and between discourses while still having a way to keep our feet on the ground. Or maybe to plant our feet on the ceiling for a change--we work down from the aggregates to find the individual cases, instead of vice versa. I think there are better ways to talk about, say, the scientization of psychology than these charts: as Allen's been trying to convince me, topic modeling is probably one
I like this the most, then, as a sort of demonstration of the new perspectives that statistical techniques can offer on our sources. We can analyze in new ways, now, the big networks of terms and words and discourses all the humanists got so excited about in the 80s. The structure of ideas and the flow of knowledge on the largest levels is more accessible than it's ever been.
I had an interesting talk last with Erez Lieberman-Aiden, one of the authors of the culturomics paper in Science and creator of ngrams, that I'm still mulling over. He thinks one of the big results of data will be in allowing a new sort of research in the humanities that focuses on falsifiability, reproducible claims, and so forth. If that does happen, though, it will at the same time open up the field for much more traditional humanistic research. When we find new angles that take big shifts as facts principally to be explained, not just unearthed, we'll find more and more interesting things to write about even within the traditional framing of humanistic research.
Fine Print: First, the components data is smoothed by a loess regression against year, span = .5, weighted by the number of books in each year. There simply aren't enough books in each year in my 45,000 book sample to use the raw data stand in and get any sense of overall trends outside of the top 3 or 4 classes. Here's what it looks like: too much popcorn maker. I could do a decade-by-decade plot, but that's just a cruder form of smoothing. I figured I'd go the pretty way and keep the year results, but it's worth noting that the future is somewhat embedded in each years' point. The data on number of words in each genre is not smoothed, and it provides an important corrective to assigning too much importance to the beginning or end of a discipline's trail.
I dropped one subclass: AP--Periodicals. Periodicals aren't in any particular genre, and they aren't supposed to be in the Open Library to begin with. There are a few, though, and they come from very different fields in large numbers at increments of a few decades. The net result is that the dot sweeps around all across the screen, while not contributing to an understanding of genre relations. It's kind of neat to watch, though, and gives a little insight into how the smoothing works in the long stretches it tries to find a point while there is no data. Check it out if you like.
Finally, it's worth mentioning again that my data includes reprints. Shakespeare, for example, may be an important part of the reason that British literature lags behind American. Open Library data makes it possible to use creation dates, but I'm not sure that data is so reliable that it's worth porting over to it. Plus, it says something important about fields if some continue to reprint lots of books from decades earlier while others do not.
9 comments:
- AnonymousFebruary 22, 2011 at 4:45 PM
I'm getting a window size here too small to see the whole animation at once. Using Firefox. Would you recommend Chrome instead?
ReplyDelete - AnonymousFebruary 23, 2011 at 9:15 AM
It works for me too now. Very nice. I'm intrigued by the way "Languages and Lit" seems to lead the parade in the second animation.
I know these are based on LoC classifications. In practice, does that turn out to be mostly fiction/poetry/drama or mostly critical nonfiction? In this period, I would guess the former.
This is pretty cool -- not just technically as a visualization, but I think the underlying result is also interesting. I've got some results that might be relevant, at least to the literary part of this. I think I'll have to write them up as a blog post. - AnonymousFebruary 23, 2011 at 9:54 AM
I've looked at the bubbles more carefully, and it appears that all fiction may be filed under PZ, along with "juvenile belles lettres." Am I getting that right?
ReplyDelete So the standard is the LC classification descriptions, and past that I just have to scan titles. It looks to me like PZ is all fiction: here is a full list of every book title (no authors, alas) that I'm using with links to the IA pages. Ugly, but it can give you an idea. Let me know if you want any other genres to get an idea what's in them, that's easy to do.
Looking at the components, I think the key to PZ's lead is more casual language, in various ways--contractions, for example, really jump out.I should say: PR and PS both have a good deal of fiction too. Here's the list for them. There's an artificial distinction between fiction and literature that's hard to nail down--is Huckleberry Finn literature, juvenile belles-lettres, or fiction? I've seen it categorized within my sample under at least two of them.
ReplyDelete- AnonymousFebruary 23, 2011 at 11:58 AM
Thanks for those clarifications. I suspect you're right about "more casual language, in various ways." From a literary-historical perspective, though, it gets interesting to specify exactly what we mean by "casual." I'm working on a hypothesis about the changing relationship between oral and written language 1700-1900, and I'm about to try to find out whether literary texts turn out to be outliers on the trend curves I'm working with. This looks very much like a clue that they will be.
I suspect PS probably leads PR just because the volume of American prose overall is growing, making PS more "forward looking" in a sort of tautological way.
Great visualization, though; there's so much in there to think about. - AnonymousMarch 18, 2011 at 4:44 PM
Here's the promised post about one metric of "casualness" in English diction 1700-1900:


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Soldiers stress is a key concern as the Army ponders whether to send more forces.
By Ann Scott Tyson (July 07, 2003, Christian Science Monitor)
WASHINGTON &Mac246; US troops facing extended deployments amid the danger, heat, and uncertainty of an Iraq occupation are suffering from low morale that has in some cases hit "rock bottom."
Even as President Bush speaks of a "massive and long-term" undertaking in rebuilding Iraq, that effort, as well as the high tempo of US military operations around the globe, is taking its toll on individual troops.
Some frustrated troops stationed in Iraq are writing letters to representatives in Congress to request their units be repatriated. "Most soldiers would empty their bank accounts just for a plane ticket home," said one recent Congressional letter written by an Army soldier now based in Iraq. The soldier requested anonymity.
In some units, there has been an increase in letters from the Red Cross stating soldiers are needed at home, as well as daily instances of female troops being sent home due to pregnancy.
"Make no mistake, the level of morale for most soldiers that I've seen has hit rock bottom," said another soldier, an officer from the Army's 3rd Infantry Division in Iraq.
Such open grumbling among troops comes as US commanders reevaluate the size and composition of the US-led coalition force needed to occupy Iraq. US Central Command, which is leading the occupation, is expected by mid-July to send a proposal to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on how many and what kind of troops are required, as well as on the rotation of forces there.
For soldiers, a life on the road
The rethink about troop levels comes as senior military leaders voice concern that multiple deployments around the world are already taxing the endurance of US forces, the Army in particular. Some 370,000 soldiers are now deployed overseas from an Army active-duty, guard, and reserve force of just over 1 million people, according to Army figures.
Experts warn that long, frequent deployments could lead to a rash of departures from the military. "Hordes of active-duty troops and reservists may soon leave the service rather than subject themselves to a life continually on the road," writes Michael O'Hanlon, a military expert at the Brookings Institution here.
A major Army study is now under way to examine the impact of this high pace of operations on the mental health of soldiers and families. "The cumulative effect of these work hours and deployment and training are big issues, and soldiers are concerned about it," says Col. Charles Hoge, who is leading the survey of 5,000 to 10,000 soldiers for the Walter Reed Institute of Army Research.
Concern over stressed troops is not new. In the late 1990s, a shrinking of military manpower combined with a rise in overseas missions prompted Congress to call for sharp pay increases for troops deployed over a certain number of days.
"But then came September 11 and the operational tempo went off the charts" and the Congressional plan was suspended, according to Ed Bruner, an expert on ground forces at the Congressional Research Service here.
Adding manpower to the region
Despite Pentagon statements before the war that the goal of US forces was to "liberate, not occupy" Iraq, Secretary Rumsfeld warned last week that the war against terrorists in Iraq and elsewhere "will not be over any time soon."
Currently, there are some 230,000 US troops serving in and around Iraq, including nearly 150,000 US troops inside Iraq and 12,000 from Britain and other countries. According to the Pentagon, the number of foreign troops is expected to rise to 20,000 by September. Fresh foreign troops began flowing into Iraq this month, part of two multinational forces led by Poland and Britain. A third multinational force is also under consideration.
A crucial factor in determining troop levels are the daily attacks that have killed more than 30 US and British servicemen in Iraq since Mr. Bush declared on May 1 that major combat operations had ended.
The unexpected degree of resistance led the Pentagon to increase US ground troops in Iraq to mount a series of ongoing raids aimed at confiscating weapons and capturing opposition forces.
A tour of duty with no end in sight
As new US troops flowed into Iraq, others already in the region for several months, such as the 20,000-strong 3rd Infantry Division were retained in Iraq.
"Faced with continued resistance, Department of Defense now plans to keep a larger force in Iraq than anticipated for a period of time," Maj. Gen. Buford Blount, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division, explained in a statement to families a month ago. "I appreciate the turmoil and stress that a continued deployment has caused," he added.
The open-ended deployments in Iraq are lowering morale among some ground troops, who say constantly shifting time tables are reducing confidence in their leadership. "The way we have been treated and the continuous lies told to our families back home has devastated us all," a soldier in Iraq wrote in a letter to Congress.
Security threats, heat, harsh living conditions, and, for some soldiers, waiting and boredom have gradually eroded spirits. An estimated 9,000 troops from the 3rd Infantry Division - most deployed for at least six months and some for more than a year - have been waiting for several weeks, without a mission, to return to the United States, officers say.
In one Army unit, an officer described the mentality of troops. "They vent to anyone who will listen. They write letters, they cry, they yell. Many of them walk around looking visibly tired and depressed.... We feel like pawns in a game that we have no voice [in]."
home vicpeace.org


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Color accuracy
We have made every effort to make the colors on screen as accurate as possible. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee an exact color match of the on screen color to the colors of the actual products and the color appearing on screen should not be relied on as being such. Colors on screen may vary depending on your screen settings and resolution. If you are unsure of a color, we recommend that where possible you order a tester from your local store or online.


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My lame excuse is the baby has invaded the creative writing part of my brain leaving me with an extended case of writer's block. Truthfully, there also hasn't been much happening over the past few weeks. After the initial excitement of getting the BFP, seeing the heartbeat, hearing the heartbeat, and making it past the fragile weeks of the first trimester, it's been weeks of just growing and waiting. Waiting for the BIG scan. This last week it was time to finally get a good look at our baby, no longer a blob or a gummi bear, but a real baby.
Then the big moment came we had been waiting for. Would we be filling the nursery with frilly things and bows or manly things like cars and trucks? I am excited to announce.......
I'm still trying to wrap my head around all the implications of having a son but it is fun to be able to start planning our boy's nursery and the fun stuff that boys enjoy. Luckily I have lots of friends and family nearby that are familiar with raising little boys. We haven't decided on a name just yet but the list of possibilities is getting shorter.
In addition to baby boy being healthy, momma is doing well so far too. The first trimester ickiness finally seems to be gone with only an occasional short lived reprise. By the most recent check I am up 6 pounds and I have a bit of a more defined baby bump that people are starting to notice.
So that's the big update for us. With any luck the baby will give up a little bit of my brain power that I might be able to not go so long between posts.


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About Software Security
In the cloud-enabled, highly networked world of modern computing, security is one of the most important facets of proper software engineering.
The most important thing to understand about security is that it is not a bullet point item. You cannot bolt it on at the end of the development process. You must consciously design security into your app or service from the very beginning, and make it a conscious part of the entire process from design through implementation, testing, and release.
At a Glance
At the application layer, security means being aware of how your code uses information and ensuring that it does so safely and responsibly. For example, it is your responsibility to:
Keep users' personal data safe from prying eyes. Store the data in a secure way, and ensure that your software collects only the information that it requires.
Treat untrusted files and data with care. If your software accesses the Internet or reads files that might have previously been sent to someone over the Internet, your software must properly validate the data. If it does not, it might inadvertently provide a vector for attackers to access other personal data that may be stored on the user's computer or other mobile device.
Protect data in transit. If your software transmits personal information over the Internet, you must do so in a safe and secure fashion to prevent unauthorized access to or modification of the data while in transit.
Verify the authenticity of data where possible. If your software provides access to or works with signed data, it should verify those signatures to ensure that the data has not been tampered with.
Threat Models Help You Identify Areas of Risk
In the planning phase, you must determine the nature of the threats to your software and architect your code in such a way that maximizes security. To do this, you should build up a threat model that shows ways in which your software might be attacked.
Secure Coding Techniques and OS Security Features Help You Mitigate Those Risks
At each phase of the development process, you must take steps to mitigate risks:
Avoid exploitable coding flaws. During the implementation phase, you must avoid using insecure coding techniques that can lead to arbitrary code injection, denial of service, or other incorrect behavior.
Update your risk model continuously. Throughout the development process, you should continue to perform regular risk assessments and update your threat model as the software evolves so that it accurately reflects your risk.
Don't reinvent the wheel. When securing your software and its data, you should always take advantage of built-in security features rather than writing your own if at all possible. In particular, you may need to determine whether a user is legitimate or not, send messages to servers securely to protect the integrity and secrecy of data in transit, or store data securely on local disks to protect data at rest.
Tools Can Help You Catch Coding Errors
In the testing phase, you should take advantage of static analyzers and other tools designed to help you find security vulnerabilities.
This document assumes that you have already read Mac Technology Overview, iOS Technology Overview, or both.
Copyright © 2012 Apple Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Updated: 2012-12-13


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About Crimemapping (Clemis Public Crime Search)
The Taylor Police Department has added yet one more tool for residents to stay on top of crime and other occurrences in their neighborhoods. Web-based "Clemis Public Crime Search" is an up-to-date internet tool using crime reports provided by the Taylor Police Department to craft maps, charts and trend reports based on date. Crime mapping is one tool used by crime & data analysis officers to alert them of crime patterns or trends in their jurisdictions. The "randomness" of crimes and/or criminal behavior, makes it difficult to track, detect or predict exact patterns in most incidents.
Arming You With Awareness
Having knowledge of the crimes and patterns of crimes in your neighborhoods not only provides you with factual data, but arms you with the knowledge and awareness of how to better protect yourselves. So often you are only made aware of crimes by what you read in the newspaper, see on the news, or from the gossip you hear in and around your neighborhoods. More often than not, this information has been filtered or altered by the time it gets to you.
Knowledge is Power
Viewing crime data as it happens will allow you to see what is going on when it is going on around you. Knowledge is power, and arming our residents with the power to help protect yourselves is a win-win situation for everyone involved. A knowledgeable, more aware resident, is a key asset and partner for all law enforcement officials.
Timeliness of information is always an issue involved with fighting crime. Too often, we become aware of crime only after the victim discovers the crime and reports it to the police. Our goal is to alert the public so they may take the necessary steps to prevent being victimized. One example of this may be, making you aware of home invasions in your neighborhood may remind you to lock your doors and windows and turn on indoor lighting to avoid becoming victimized.
Each map will have a legend detailing the types of crimes included on the map; it will also show the range of dates selected for the crime data. Dates and times for each specific crime (s) will be added either to the map as a visible layer, or on a separate spreadsheet. Too much information on a large site map can overcrowd the map and distort the information. Residential parcels, buildings, addresses, and smaller residential streets are also shut off for this purpose. You may however, be able to view these features on a smaller map with larger zoom capabilities if deemed necessary.